CloudFactory, From the Heights of Nepal, Can Put 1 Million Cloud Workers Into Business
CloudFactory is a fascinating business and concept, not just because it’s based in the Himalayan nation of Nepal, but because it can put one million people in developing countries – including in Nepal itself – into work on the web.
Those folks get employment doing basic computer work from their own home, while the companies that make use of the CloudFactory service get that huge human workforce to do tasks online like flagging bad content, inputting data, transcribing audio, fixing OCR, tagging images, etc. Essentially, many kinds of digitization, categorization, moderation, or even translation.
クラウドファクトリーはその拠点がネパールのヒマラヤに拠点があるという理由だけでなく、発展途上国の100万人（ネパール自体も含む）をウェブ上の仕事に取り込めるという点で魅力的なビジネスとコンセプトを持っている。
彼らは自分の家でコンピューターで基本的な仕事を行うことで雇用を創出する一方、クラウドファクトリーのサービスを利用する会社がオンラインの仕事（例えば悪質なコンテンツへのフラグ付け、データ入力、音声データの転記、OCRの訂正、イメージへのタグ付けなど）をこなすために膨大な労働力を得ることができるものだ。基本的に多くの種類のデジタル化、カテゴリ化、適正化、さらには翻訳などが含まれる。
CloudFactoryは魅力的なビジネスでコンセプトだ、それがネパールのヒマラヤにあるという理由だけでなく、発展途上国のウェブ業務に100万人の労働者を配置することができるという理由から- ネパール自体を含めて。
労働者は自宅から基礎的なコンピューター関連の仕事をすることで報酬を得る。そして、CloudFactoryのサービスを使う企業は、オンライン上でのタスク処理、たとえば良くないコンテンツにフラグを立てたり、データをインプットしたり、音声を書きおこしたり、OCRを修理したり、画像をタグ付けしたりといったことに、膨大な人員を充てることができる。特に、色々な種類のデジタル化やカテゴリー化、適正化、そして翻訳まで。
Started up in 2008 by Mark Sears, who came to Nepal with his wife on a two week vacation that never quite ended, the business itself employs 40 staff, mostly software engineers, in its Kathmandu office. Its cloud workers are scattered across the globe – mostly in poorer nations where work can be hard to come by – and are more than just a database of names. Using the microloan model, CloudFactory aims to put its cloud labor force into work as independent businesspeople, helping them purchase the kind of low-end tablet or netbook that can get them started.
To learn more about the region and the business model, TiA chatted with Tom Puskarich, the VP of business development, and got some founder’s insights from Mark Sears (both pictured below) as well. First up, Tom fields the questions:
1. Startups often have a tough time finding talent for their own team. How is that situation in Kathmandu, or Nepal in general?
Tom: Kathmandu’s universities put out hundreds of computer engineers every year; and with the lack of work opportunities, these engineers are hungry and motivated, especially for a Silicon Valley-style startup right in their backyard. Add that to the social mission of being a part of not only trying to change their own country but using their skills to change how the world works and create millions of jobs for those in developing countries, and you’ve got a recipe some seriously motivated talent. We’re certainly not at a loss to find programmers with a passion for developing software for the developing world, in the developing world.
2. Your CloudFactory creates opportunities for a claimed million “cloud workers” to do things like digitization, moderation, translation, etc. How does the system work, and what’s the deal for all these workers?
Tom: We use several worker pools, some of which are in Nepal and others through partnerships such as Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. The idea behind all of these systems is a massively distributed workforce who get the huge benefit of not only working from wherever they would like, but also whenever they would like. Our own workforce, that is starting in Nepal, has much more opportunity for growth, training, and feedback which will then give our clients higher quality results.
トム：当社はワーカープールをいくつか使っている。その一部はネパールにあるし、アマゾンのメカニカル・タークのようなパートナーシップを通す場合もある。これらのシステムの背後にあるアイデアはどこでも好きなところから労働力を得るだけでなく、いつでも好きなときに労働力を得るという大きな利益を得られる巨大な労働力配給システムだ。ネパールから始まっている当社自身の労働力は成長、訓練、フィードバックのチャンスがたくさんあり、それらは当社のクライアントを高品質な結果へ導くことになるだろう。
トム：我々はいくつかの人材プールを使っており、ネパールにあるものやいくつかはアマゾンのMechanical Turkのようなパートナーシップを通じてのものだ。これらのシステムの後ろにある考えは、広汎に分散された人材はどこからでも働けるだけでなくいつでも好きな時に働けるという大きな利益を得られる事だ。ネパールで始めた、我々自身の人材は、成長、教育そして顧客からのフィードバックをさらに多く得られる機会があり、これが顧客への高品質なサービスに結びついている。
3. You have a business card scanning app called BizcardArmy which is a sort of showcase for the CloudFactory.
Tom: BizcardArmy is a great example of CloudFactory in a market flooded with automated business card scanning apps that don’t really work. The efficient and on-demand human workforce that CloudFactory provides is the perfect solution for both the business and the users who get a great solution for turning paper business cards into contacts on their phones. As I said, this is just an example of the power of CloudFactory, and these same principles can be applied to all kinds of ideas from savvy entrepreneurs.
トム：自動化されているが実際にはうまく働かない名刺スキャニングアプリが市場に氾濫している中で、BizcardArmyはクラウドファクトリーのすばらしい例だろう。クラウドファクトリーが提供する効率的でオンデマンドなヒューマン労働力は紙製の名刺を自分の携帯電話の連絡先に転換するというソリューションを望んでいる企業やユーザーにとって完璧なソリューションだ。先ほど述べたように、これはクラウドファクトリーの力の一例であり、これらと同じ理論は抜け目ない起業家のあらゆるアイデアに応用可能だ。
トム：実際には機能しない自動の名詞読み取りアプリケーションが溢れた市場においてBizcardArmyはCloudFactoryの好例だ。効率が良く需要に応じる事が出来る人材によりCloudFactoryは企業、顧客両者に完全なソリューションを提供出来、顧客は紙の名詞から携帯へ直接接触出来る素晴らしいソリューションを得られる。先に言ったように、これはCloudFactoryの力を示す一つの好例に過ぎず、これらの原則は情報通の事業家のどのようなアイデアにも適応される。
4. What’s your personal startup/entrepreneur story?
Mark: My wife and I actually came to Nepal for a two-week vacation – and that kept getting extended. Three and a half years later we are still here and have teamed up with Tom and his wife to take CloudFactory to the next level. Initially we started as a Ruby on Rails outsourcing company and grew quickly as we hired smart young computer engineers and trained them up.
Then we wanted to give training and opportunities to other talented people in Nepal and other developing countries. At the same time we were getting requests from clients to hire people in Nepal to do lead generation, image and video tagging, and other non-programming work. The supply and demand were there, so we started work on an innovative platform to bridge the gap. Initially it was a side project where we reinvested profits and extra time from the outsourcing side of the business, but since January it is now 100 percent of our focus.
5. How’s the startup scene in Nepal?
Tom: To describe Nepal in a word would be “adventure” – which is also how you could describe the startup scene. Wherever it exists in the world. Startups are not for the faint of heart whether you’re an entrepreneur, an investor, or a geek looking to change the world. So, in one way, you could look at Nepal and find all the reasons doing a startup in a country like Nepal is difficult, but if you’re ready to generate your own electricity and pass a few cows on the way to work, you may just find all the hidden advantages that go along with creating a startup at the top of the world; not the least of which is an awesome and hungry workforce or the breath-taking mountain views from the office.
